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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the clinic will be run by the Royal Women’s Hospital and Monash Health in Melbourne initially, and will be able to service 4000 women a year.
Andrews said the clinic was designed to remove the cost barrier that stopped thousands of aspiring parents from having a better chance of growing their family.
“IVF can be a game-changer for people who might be struggling to have a child, but too often and for too many, it’s financially out of reach,” he said.
The opening of the clinic comes after Andrews announced it as an election promise ahead of the 2018 state election, and was funded by $70 million included in the May 2021 budget.
Andrews has now said that if he is re-elected again next month, the clinic will be expanded to be able to service an additional 1000 women annually with a further $13.6 million.
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“That will mean that 5000 Victorian women every year are able to access free, IVF services,” he said.
Andrews said the service will further be expanded to satellite sites that will be able to offer consultations and pathology for those in regional Victoria.
The clinic will also help people who need access to donor or surrogacy services, and those who need fertility preservation due to medical treatment, such as cancer patients.
Services will include IVF, fertility preservation, genetic testing, donor and surrogacy services – including Victoria’s first public sperm and egg bank.
The government has said the clinic will be available to women aged 42 and under, with there to be no specific eligibility requirements such as income.
